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November 17, 2003

A little whimsy goes a long way

If you've grown weary of the catch-phrases, slogans, taglines, and hucksterism of arts marketing, or the endless efforts to motivate an increasingly corporate staff, two nonarts organizations may hold the cure: Despair, Inc., and the Church Ad Project. One's a joke (and a great one), the other is an honest attempt to market religion in the big league. Both are fabulous for a well-earned laugh.

Despair, Inc., grew out of those nauseating motivational posters that cropped up on office walls and business catalogues a few years back (motivation, leadership, vision). This company makes very dark, highly sarcastic versions, suitable for framing. A few favorites that are particularly relevant to nonprofit arts managers, when they are in their dark place:

On the slightly more serious side, the Church Ad Project has spent the last 24 years supplying creative, cost-effective advertising and marketing tools for churches. In essense, they turn the big idea of the Ad Council (applying ad agency muscle to public service announcements) toward the effort to get butts in seats (or more accurately, butts in pews).

Leaf through their on-line catalog of stock ads, posters, and promotional merchandise, and you feel the same odd amuseument you get from a really clever cultural ad campaign. After all, both the Church Ad Project and the nonprofit arts are trying to sell highly abstract, intrinsic services to a broad audience...and constantly teetering between selling and selling out. Some favorites here:

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